Dies Irae
by Of Healing Love
Summary: Quasimodo's parents were delayed by a storm and the fateful trap that put Quasimodo in Frollo's care failed. Esmeralda grows up with a best friend and a family and it all seems for the better. But caring for a child, even under duress, had once softened Frollo. Not now. Frollo is still entranced by a beautiful gypsy witch on January 6th, but this time, no one's there to stop him...


_Hi everyone!_

 _So I've had such a great response on "A Girl and a Mountain," my Mulan fic, that I've decided to start another Disney fic for my favorite Disney movie of all time: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's going to have similar elements to AGAM, but is very much its own story._

 _This story is dedicated to DeGlace, who has been nagging me to do a Hunchback Frollo/Esmeralda fic for a while now. However, as you will notice from the tags, I couldn't help but at Clopin into the mix. He's always been my crush in Hunchback and I eternally ship him with our dear gypsy witch - as well as Frollo, but Clopin has a special place in my heart._

 _So, a few notes - this story is going to be dark, probably darker than AGAM. Disney made everything all kid-friendly, but gypsies are typically not kid-friendly - nor is Renaissance-era France, either. Victor Hugo wrote a dark story (I haven't read it personally, but I've heard things) and this will be a little more like that. However, this will retain all of its Disney funsies, just in a darker light._

 _Also, I have no experience with Gypsy culture other than what little research I've done. If you see any blatant errors, please point them out to me. I can't promise I'll fix everything, but I do want to do an accurate presentation of the culture. I don't mean to step on any toes! Anyways..._

 _I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter One: A Better Life**

"Djali, _stop!_ "

"It's fine," Quasi said with a laugh, still chipping away at the wooden block that would soon be a caricature of Clopin. Beside him, a grey-and-white goat was munching on what had once been Baker Francois. "I can always make more."

Esmeralda scowled and put her hands on her hips. "It's not going to be 'fine' when people start paying money for them. It's a bad habit for him to get into." Still, other than scolding Djali, she did nothing to stop him.

Araunya, Quasi's aged but still beautiful mother, walked into the gaudy tent that she, her husband Barsali, their son and Esmeralda lived in, and took in the scene with a sigh.

"Quasimodo," she said, "he's going to get indigestion."

Quasi finally looked scolded. "Alright, Mother," he said, leaning down to take the baker's figurine from Djali, but just before he could grasp the remaining legs, Djali slurped it up and gave a look so innocent and guileless that it could have made the Judge smile.

And making Judge Claude Frollo smile was a thing that no gypsy or anything related to them could do.

Araunya nodded and set down the freshly-washed linens she had been carrying. "Esmeralda," she said, turning to her foster daughter, "have you been practicing for the Feast?"

Esmeralda nodded and took a seat on the stool next to her best friend and foster brother. "Every day," she replied. She smirked wryly. "And I've been getting paid for it, too."

"Good," Araunya said simply. It was the way of the gypsies: never do anything for free. And with Esmeralda's looks and figure, there wasn't much people would refuse her, not even their hard-earned money. Even if she hadn't been born to their clan, hadn't been born a gypsy at all, Esmeralda would have been able to do anything she wanted with her life and still lived well. It was one of the reasons she refused to marry, even though at nineteen, she was getting on in years as a bride. However, there was no pressure to marry, at least not from Araunya and Barsali, although Clopin had been eyeing her from time to time these days. As close to a leader of their clan as could be, Araunya thought that they wouldn't be a bad match.

But the gypsies of Paris led a free life outside the confines of tradition and no one was going to make anyone do anything they didn't want to—at least in most circumstances. They were family, and family loved and cared for each other, no matter how close the blood relation.

Araunya had just begun to speak when Clopin's voice rang out from the main hall, announcing the arrival of the Judge's footmen. Naturally, they had been seeking the Court of Miracles, and naturally, they had to be silenced now that they had found it.

And there was only one way to silence an outsider, as it were.

"I've never liked these," Quasi complained.

Esmeralda agreed, as well as the rest of the immediate family, but what had to be done was done.

"Would you rather us be discovered by that despicable man?" Barsali said, coming from the back of the tent. Esmeralda flinched; she hadn't realized he was here. Then again, he was typically a quiet and gentle man, not one to make much noise. Quasi had taken after him more than his mother, but in some ways not: out of everyone, Barsali was the least affected by the hangings.

"No," Quasi replied, just as Esmeralda said, "Of course not!"

"Exactly," Barsali said. "Let's go."

The four trooped out of their home and melded in with the crowd to go watch the proceedings. Clopin was having a merry time tormenting the three men who had been captured, one of whom had tears streaming down his face once his helmet was removed. He was young and had obviously not known what he was getting into when hunting Paris's underworld, but there was no sympathy. If the roles were reversed, he would be just as cruel to them as Clopin was being to him.

Once most of the clan had arrived, Clopin began with his little song that he loved to perform right before hangings. "A little send-off," he said when asked, although no one was actually protesting. Clopin had all of his many passions down to an art: puppeteering, song and dance, storytelling, and more. He wasn't a jack of all trades, but rather a master of them. He was also unarguably the most well-off member of their clan, and most deferred to him on matters that affected the clan in its entirety.

Esmeralda scoffed when Clopin's little hand puppet kissed the crying footman's tears away with a mocking 'smack.' "So immature," she muttered darkly. Quasi was determinedly not paying attention, but he had a wince on his face, which denoted that he couldn't entirely escape the proceedings.

Barsali, on the other hand, had a small grin on his face and a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Araunya was quiet and stone-faced—not because she disapproved, but because she had seen too many of these in her lifetime and was quite tired of them at her age.

Esmeralda then noticed that Quasi was looking a little queasy, and it was probably because Clopin was really going hard on these ones. Always before the Feast of Fools did the search parties triple in frequency because the Judge was hoping that the clan would make themselves vulnerable in their comings and goings, but unfortunately for him, they were much too skilled at what they did to allow something like the Feast to dull their wits. If anything, holidays like this one sharpened them—the villagers of Paris typically drank themselves into stupors, and it made them prime pickings for the petty thieves of their lot.

"Let's go, Quasi," Esmeralda said quietly. He glanced up at her, the hunch on his back making him one of the shorter men of their clan. His pale skin was also a bit of an oddity, but it also would help him blend in to the regular hustle and bustle of Paris proper when he was ready to sell his figurines.

He looked up at her and nodded. She placed her hand on his large elbow and they left with a ripple in the crowds. Most didn't pay attention to them leaving—Quasi was known among the clan for having a bit of a weak stomach.

However, they passed by the tent they lived in and began to meander throughout the alleys and streets build in by their ancestors into the catacombs. Djali trotted behind them with the cheerful clip-clop of his hooves, almost prancing.

Once they found a little alley that they liked particularly well, Esmeralda sat with her knees pressed against her chest and Quasi leaned back against the stone wall.

"How do you think the Feast is going to be this year?" Quasi asked her. "This is the seventh hanging in the last two weeks, and there's still another week until the festival."

Esmeralda shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. "I feel like…I don't know. I feel like something bad is going to happen. I just don't know what."

Quasi frowned. "Is it because you're the main feature this year?"

Esmeralda shrugged, his expression mirrored on her face. "I'm not sure." She tossed a small rock across down the alleyway and it clanged softly as it skipped down the stone ground.

"Do you think you should let Jaelle do the feature for one more year and then take over next year instead?"

"No," Esmeralda said firmly. "Her joints are hurting worse and worse these days. Not even Healer Lela knows what's going on, and I'm not going to let Jaelle do it if she'll be in pain." Quasi still looked worried, so Esmeralda went on, "I'll talk to Mother if it gets any worse, okay?"

Quasi nodded, but still looked unhappy. "Be careful, Esme," he said, calling her the name he had given her when they were young. He was 'Quasi' and she was 'Esme' because there had been no way two-year-olds could properly pronounce each other's long names.

Esmeralda smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Quasi. Everything will be fine."

Quasimodo seemed a little unsure, but they trusted each other implicitly. "Still," he insisted.

"Oh, fine," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "I'll be careful."

Quasi grinned. "Good." He cocked an ear, then said, "It looks like Clopin's done. Do you want to go Above?"

"Sure," she agreed. "Maybe dancing will wear off some of these nerves." And they set off for the overworld.

* * *

 _This chapter is rather short because I'm not sure about the reception this is going to get, so I want to test the waters before dedicating myself to a whole new story. I have no idea how long this will be, but I have lots of inspiration for it. So, if you want a continuation - PLEASE let me know. There's no threshold for reviews that I'm demanding, but I really do want to make sure this is going to be appreciated before, like I said, dedicating a ton of time to it. :)_

 _Also, was this chapter awkward? I feel like it's awkward. It's a major transition from my typical Eastern setting, so..._


End file.
